A/N: I do not own anything relating to Doctor Who. I only own the ideas of my OC. I've gotten a little feedback and I will try to continue adding these extra, non episode, chapters. They're fun to write but take a bit longer to put out since it's all coming from my (annoyingly overactive) mind. I hope no one is too OOC. Free invisible cookies to reviewers. Thanks again and I hope you all enjoy.
Previously: "We should get going." I tried. As I stood, I felt dizzy. I used the table to steady myself.
"Phoenix, what's happening?" Her voice was quiet and slightly slurred. I tried to speak but couldn't find the words as things started blurring. I saw two men come from behind the counter and walk over to us.
"Run." I tried to call out but collapsed into darkness.
I started coming to when someone began to shake me frantically.
"Phoenix! Phoenix, wake up!" Angie was whispering as she shook me. I blinked a couple times, to clear my blurry eyes, before sitting up. We were in a dimly lit room, about the size of Jackie's living room. There was a set of bars separating us from the other half of the room and the only door out. The walls were cement and there weren't any windows. Angie and I were seated on a small cot against the back wall.
"Well, this is a lovely change of scenery." I frowned and stretched my aching arms. Whatever was in the tea had made me feel sluggish. My limbs felt stiff and heavy.
"It's a prison cell." Angie argued nervously.
"I was being sarcastic." I finally looked over at her. She was panicking and glancing around the room. I realized I had forgotten who I was with, and I was acting the way I did around Rose and the Doctor. They knew how to handle my sarcasm. Angie didn't. I also realized that normal people didn't end up in situations like the one we were in. "Sorry. I get like that when I get nervous." She finally stopped looking around the room and looked at me.
"What happened? We were drinking tea, then I started feeling ill. You got up to leave and next thing I know, we're in here." She was trying so hard not to cry but I could see the tears threatening to spill out any second.
"It's alright. We'll figure it out." I tried reassuring her but she didn't seem to believe me. Her eyes still held terror. I looked around and noticed a small camera in the corner of the room that I hadn't seen before. I wanted to tell her that the Doctor would hopefully come help, but decided against it. "We'll get out of here." I offered quietly. We both quickly turned when the door on the other side of the room opened. A cloaked figure moved into the room. Their face was covered by a hood and their head was tilted down.
"You will not escape." It was a male voice that came from underneath the cloak. He was slow and deliberate in the way he spoke. I stood up and blocked Angie with my body. She stood up behind me. I didn't know who this man was, but I knew I had to protect Angie from him. She was my responsibility. If I hadn't run into her, there was a chance she wouldn't have been in that situation. After all, she had mentioned she was too nervous to go into that tea shop alone.
"Right. And who says we won't get out of here? Who are you?" I questioned. Two other cloaked figures came and stood behind him. They were all the same height and roughly the same build. Despite me speaking, they all continued to look at the ground.
"We are the Harvesters. We have come to this planet to rid it of those that do not belong." The first one explained. I frowned at the word planet. He lifted his head to look at us. His face remained in shadow from the hood but his eyes were glowing orange. Angie shrieked backed up even more. She was breathing quickly. I wanted to comfort her but trying to get some kind of information seemed like a better idea. If I didn't comfort her, the worst that could happen would be her fainting. If I got information, I might be able to figure out a way to talk us out of there, however unlikely. It was still worth a shot.
"If you're here to rid the planet of those that don't belong, why did you take us?" I demanded. I couldn't show them, or Angie, my fear. They might use that fear to their advantage, and Angie needed someone to be strong for her. I prayed that I would find a way to get us out of there.
"You do not belong." The man spoke evenly. When he didn't elaborate, I got annoyed.
"Care to explain what you mean? I'm pretty sure we belong here, well not here in this cell, but here on this planet." I started rambling. The two others that had joined, turned and left just as quietly as they had entered. I wasn't sure if that was a good sign or a very, very bad sign. I was desperately hoping for it to be a good one.
"You do not belong. Angela Wright, meant to die June the 16th 1998 in Enfield, England. Saved by one Phoenix, no last name." I felt Angie grab my arm tightly. Her skin was cold and clammy. I quickly turned to her. She was white as a sheet. Her breathing had become quicker and more uneven. I moved to help her sit on the cot but she fainted in my arms. Thankfully her breathing evened out once she fainted. I quickly moved her onto the cot and resumed my position of guarding her.
"And me? Why am I here? For saving her?" I was furious at the implication that Angie was being targeted because they thought she should have died. 1998 was when I had met her. I had convinced her to go back to her mother in May of that year. I had made it to Cardiff in June.
"You do not belong. Phoenix, no last name, no record of birth. You do not exist. You should not exist." My heart started racing even more. He lowered his head and turned to leave.
"What do you mean I don't exist? I'm standing right here! I bloody exist!" I yelled at him. He didn't answer but continued out of the room. The door closed quietly behind him. When I was relatively sure he wasn't coming back, I turned around and started tending to Angie. I started fanning her with my hand, not having anything else to help. They had taken my purse when they brought us into the cell. Slowly, she started waking up. I helped her slowly sit up. "Take it slow. You'll be alright."
"What. . . what did he mean, I was meant to die? Who are they?" She wasn't hyperventilating anymore but she still looked terrified. Her eyes were wide and glossy. She was shaking ever so slightly. I was still bracing her, making sure she wouldn't faint again.
"I don't know why he said you were meant to die. You weren't. If you were, you wouldn't be here now. Don't dwell on that. As for who they are. . . they're. . . well, I think they're aliens." I said carefully. She looked from me to the closed door and back again.
"Aliens? Like. . . outer space aliens?" I watched her carefully.
"I think so, yeah." I pointed out the glowing eyes and the way they spoke of coming to this 'planet'. She watched me as I spoke. I could tell that she didn't want to believe me, but it was a bit hard to ignore everything. "Are you alright?" At first she nodded but then started shaking her head. I wrapped my arms around her and started rubbing her back like I did for Rose. It seemed to help after a couple minutes. At first she cried into my arms, but eventually calmed down and leaned back.
"Alright. Aliens. How do we get out of here?" She questioned, sounding a little better.
"First things first." I stood up and walked over to where the camera was on the wall. I looked up at it. From where I was, it couldn't see me. I was trying to figure out how to get at it when Angie walked over to me. She knelt down and offered her hands to lift me up. I smiled brightly at her and put one foot in her hands. She quickly lifted me and I grabbed the camera. When she let go of my foot, the force of me falling tore it from its wires. I quickly looked around, waiting for any sign of the figures returning. When no alarm sounded I smiled victoriously. "Wonderful! Now to get the door open." I frowned, realizing I didn't have anything with me. Anything that could have helped me, was in my bag somewhere else.
"Oh. I think I can help with that." She reached into her hair and pulled out a hair pin. "Old habits die hard." She smiled. I smiled and quickly took it and started working on the door to the cell we were in. Angie had always been the lock pick master but I had picked up on it and learned how to pick even harder locks. While we lived on the streets, she always had several pins in her hair. One time she had told me that she wanted to be prepared for anything. It was thanks to her teaching that I was able to get out of the handcuffs when I was arrested for shoplifting. I stood up when the lock clicked and the door slid open slightly. Once again, there wasn't any sign of an alarm. "Now what?" Angie whispered.
"Now we find our belongings and a way out. Before we go out, I have a few rules though." I turned to her. She raised an eyebrow at me. "I want you to stick to the shadows. Keep out of sight. If you see a way out, take it. If they catch me, don't let them find you. Your job is to get out. Got it?" I explained everything firmly. I wanted her to be safe. She must have realized I wasn't going to negotiate so she nodded her head in agreement. "Good. Lets go." I opened the door to the room and we quickly ran out into the hallway. It was just as dark, if not darker, than the room we had been in. The lights were few and far between. I felt along the wall with one hand to guide us. The other held onto Angie's to keep her close.
The first door we came to was on the side of the hallway we had been creeping down. There was a small window showing an empty room that resembled a break room. On the table sat mine and Angie's bags. I slowly opened the door. When I was sure it was truly empty, I pulled Angie in with me. She grabbed her purse and handed me mine. My mobile started ringing in one of the pockets. I searched the pockets before finding it and pulling it out. 'Rose calling' flashed on the screen. I quickly answered it.
"Hello?" I kept my voice quiet as Angie went to look out the window on the door.
"Phoenix! Where are you? We've been phoning for an hour!" The Doctor yelled. He sounded mad and relieved all at once.
"Sorry. Couldn't really get to my phone." I huffed, glancing at Angie. She nodded, letting me know we were still alone.
"Why are you whispering? Where are you?" I could hear the worry. I could almost picture the worry lines forming on his forehead.
"Not sure. We went for tea, tea was drugged, aliens kidnapped us saying we didn't belong, said they were Harvesters by the way, and now we're in some kind of prison type thing. Sorry I can't be more specific but we just broke out of the cell and are currently hiding in what looks like a break room." I grumbled.
"What tea shop?" He questioned.
"It's between two abandoned shops. Come to think of it, this might be one of those shops. Where are you?" I questioned. If he was nearby, he could help, otherwise, we were on our own.
"The school book shop. We were hoping that you just turned your phone volume off while reading." I rolled my eyes. Even if I had turned my volume off, I would still hear it vibrate. Plus, I would have let them know when I had gotten done with seeing Angie. I started thinking of where the school book shop was compared to the tea shop. Then I remembered seeing the tea shop when Angie and I passed the book shop.
"Ok. Stand in front of the shop, facing direct opposite of it. Are you there?" I directed him. He didn't answer for a minute. I heard him call for Rose to follow him. She was asking where I was but he didn't answer her.
"Yeah, facing away from the shop." He finally answered.
"Look to your left, about 45 degrees. See a pink awning down a long alleyway?" It was a couple blocks but the awning was bright and quite noticeable through the brick alley.
"Just a second. Yeah I see it. Stay where you are. We're on our way." Before I could tell him I wasn't going to just sit and wait to be rescued, he hung up. I quickly turned the volume off so it wouldn't ring at the worst possible time, and put it in my pocket.
"Was that your not boyfriend? Is he getting help?" Angie whispered as I walked over to the door. She looked hopeful and excited. The hallway was still clear when I glanced through the window. I looked back to her.
"He is the help. And he's on his way, but it'll be a couple minutes. That man seriously has a hero complex." I groaned. The sound of someone walking down the hall drew our attention back to the window. One of the cloaked figures was moving toward our door. I pulled Angie back and ran to a cupboard. I pushed her in and held a finger to my lips before closing the door. I moved to stand against the wall near the door, praying that the Harvester would keep their head down and not notice me straight away. I held my breath as they opened the door and started walking in. I looked next to me and saw a board. I quickly picked it up and hit them on the back of the head. They fell to the floor with a soft thud. I closed the door and began dragging the body over to a small pantry. "Angie, it's safe for now, come help me." I called out as quietly as I could. She came out of the cupboard and helped me put the body in the pantry before putting a chair under the doorknob to lock them in.
"Did you kill them?" She asked nervously as I made sure the chair would hold.
"No. I knocked them out with a board. Not sure how long they'll stay unconscious though. We need to get moving." I suggested. She nodded and we went back to the door. I picked up the board and we moved back into the hallway. Each door we passed, we checked for an exit. Six rooms in and all we had found were offices, a restroom, and a janitors closet. There had been no sign of the other two Harvesters.
The seventh door was another with a window. It was a room much like the one Angie and I had woken up in, a makeshift holding cell. One of the Harvesters was standing in front of a cage that held four other people. They were cowering away from the Harvester. I watched as the Harvester held out its arms. A slow stream of light came from one of the captives and went to the Harvester. They started getting paler with each second and fell to their knees. It was killing them. I ran in hurled the board at the Harvester's head. They crumpled to the ground. The people in the cell cried out and recoiled at the sudden movement. They were getting too loud for my comfort.
"Everyone hush! Angie, try to get that cell open. I need to figure out what to do with them." I pointed to the unconscious Harvester. The others had quieted down slightly when Angie went to work on the cell door, and I started looking around the room for something to hold the unconscious body. There were no closets but there was a small pile of telephone wires. I shrugged and grabbed some of the wires, pulling the body over to the bars of the far side of the cage. I starting to tie them to it when a young man came over and wordlessly started helping me. When we finished tying up the Harvester, Angie was pulling the door to the cell open. The others came out, and looked at us expectantly.
"Are we safe?" "Who are you?" "How do we get out of here?" They started speaking over one another. Their voices getting louder once again. I was worried that the third Harvester would hear them and come looking before we were ready for it.
"Hush!" I snapped. They all stopped talking and looked at me nervously. "First, I need you to answer a couple of my questions. First, how many of those things have you seen?" I asked. A young girl raised her hand. I nodded.
"Only ever seen 3 at a time. It's hard to tell them apart though. Not sure if it was the same 3." She offered. The others nodded in agreement.
"Good. Alright. Do you know if there are any other people being held here?" I questioned. They shook their heads and an older man stepped forward. He was a little taller than myself, with graying hair and glasses.
"I was the first one brought in. I own the tea shop and the buildings next to it. It was two weeks ago that those things came and took over my shop. We're in the building next door. There's no one else. We'd have heard them if there were others. The walls are thin in this building." He explained. I smiled at him, thankful for the helpful information.
"Perfect. What's your name?" I asked him.
"Gregory Nichols ma'am." He smiled back at me.
"Nice to meet you Greg, can I call you Greg?" He nodded. "Well, two of these things have been taken care of. There's still one somewhere around here. I've got two friends coming to help, but they're not going to know where we are. Since there is now six of us instead of two, moving through here will be a bit of a problem." I mused. It was difficult enough trying to get Angie and I around without making noise or being seen. With a crowd this size, it would be almost impossible. It was possible that there was only one Harvester left, but I knew nothing about them. For all I knew, just one could take all six of us out without blinking. I was trying to think of what to do next when my phone rang. Rose again. "Where are you?"
"At the tea shop. It's empty, have you figured out where you are?" The Doctor questioned. He seemed to have realized that I was going to try and figure out where I was.
"Just a second." I moved the phone away from my ear. "Greg, which building are we in?"
"The old office building, the one to the left of my shop. We're in the basement." I thanked him and put the phone back up to my ear.
"The office building to the left of the shop. Basement." The phone clicked from him hanging up. I looked at the others. They looked hopeful.
"Do you have help coming?" The young girl asked excitedly.
"Yeah. They'll be here in a minute. Until they get here, I want you all to go across the hall and into the room and wait. Block the door and keep quiet. I'll knock and let you know when it's safe to come out." I instructed.
"What about you?" Angie asked nervously. I shook my head.
"I need to find the other before he finds his friends. Plus, my not boyfriend might need some help." I teased, using her phrase for the Doctor. These people needed humor and comfort to keep themselves calm. I instructed the others to find some kind of weapon in the event that the last Harvester did get through to them. They agreed and we made our way to the door. I opened it and looked down each direction. It was still empty. I sprinted across the hallway and slowly opened the door. It was empty as well. I gave the others a signal and one by one, they quietly ran over to me and into the room. I reminded them not to open the door unless I told them it was safe or if the Doctor told them it was safe. Angie promised she would remember his voice and only answer if it was me or him. I waited for them to barricade the door before going off to look for the other Harvester.
I continued down the way Angie and I had been going but found it led to a dead end. There weren't stairs or a lift anywhere near. I huffed and rushed back in the direction of our first cell. As I neared the original cell, the door to the break room opened. Out stepped two Harvesters. I slammed the board into one of their heads sending it to the ground. I rounded on the other one but they caught the board and pulled it from my hands. They threw it behind them, well out of my reach.
"Well that's not fair." I huffed and started backing up slowly. I kept taking side glances to see if there was anything around me that I could use to defend myself but the hallway was empty. The Harvester slowly advanced on me.
"Where are the others?" They questioned. It was the same one that I had spoken with in our cell.
"Why would I tell you?" We had stopped walking and he was staring at me. His orange eyes piercing the darkness.
"Tell me where they are and I may spare your life." He offered.
"Oh hell no! I'd rather die protecting them than live knowing I let them get hurt!" I yelled at him. He tilted his head to the side in confusion before straightening back up. I realized what he was about to do. An unusual calm filled me as I stared at him. "Kill me all you like, but just know this, you will never get to them." I made a run for him, to knock him down, but stopped when he raised his arms. It was as if something was holding me in place. My body grew cold as wisps of white light came from my chest and started flowing toward the Harvester. I tried to struggle but my body was growing weaker with each second. When the draining feeling stopped abruptly, I fell to my knees using my hands to keep from fully collapsing. I looked up to see the Harvester crumpled to the ground. The Doctor was standing behind him with the board in his hand. Rose was behind him slightly. "Cut it a bit close didn't you?" I coughed. They both ran over to me. Rose engulfed me in a hug.
"Nix! Are you alright?" She cried. I felt sore but my strength was slowly returning.
"Peachy. Now, less worrying about me, more moving those two into a room with the other one." I groaned, pointing at the two unconscious Harvesters. Rose and the Doctor helped me stand slowly.
"What the hell were you thinking?" The Doctor demanded as I steadied myself using his arm. I glared at him.
"Oi! Yell at me when we're one hundred percent out of danger. There's three of these guys and a room with five people waiting for the all clear sign from me. Lets move." I grunted and went to grab one of the bodies. I started dragging it back to the cell with the other. Rose helped me move one, while the Doctor grabbed the other. We tied the other two up to the bars like I had with the first. The Doctor checked several of his pockets, before pulling out three pairs of black handcuffs and cuffing their hands behind their backs.
"What are these things?" Rose asked, looking at the Harvesters. The Doctor walked over to us. I was a little tired and out of breath from moving the bodies. Rose was holding one of my arms, making sure I wouldn't fall over. When the Doctor walked up to us, I straightened back up.
"They're Harvesters. Thought they were all gone, their species were supposed to have been destroyed several millennia ago. They were said to be the ultimate cleansers. If they felt someone didn't belong, say an alien refugee on a planet they didn't belong on, they would lure them off and drain them of their life force." He explained, looking at me carefully. It was as if he was checking me over for injuries without alerting Rose to his worry.
"Then why did they take Nix?" Rose questioned, not noticing the way the Doctor was watching me.
"I didn't ask. I was too focused on getting Angie and then the others somewhere safe." I quickly added. The Doctor was still watching me carefully. Rose had turned to look back at the Harvesters. I shook my head at the Doctor and mouthed the word 'later'. He frowned but nodded. "What are we going to do about them?" I asked.
"They're safe now. Those cuffs bind their abilities." He offered. Just then, one began to stir. We quickly looked over at them.
"We will not be stopped." It spoke softly. It was another male voice but different from the one I had spoken with. "We will finish this." A small alarm began to blare and the building began to shake.
"What are you doing?" I demanded. They let out a soft chuckle but didn't answer me.
"They're bringing the building down on top of us!" The Doctor cried, pulling me and Rose out of the room and toward the stairs. I pulled my hand from his grasp and ran back toward the other room. "What are you doing?" He called after me.
"Saving the others!" I ran up to the closed door and pounded on it. "Angie, it's me. You need to open the door quickly. The building is going to collapse!" I yelled through the door. There was the scraping of something being slid across the floor and the door opened. They all looked terrified. "Come on follow that man!" I pointed to the Doctor. He gave me a nod and started leading us out of the basement and outside. It was just after dark and the streets were rather empty. We all made it in front of the tea shop before the building to the left crumpled to the ground.
Greg had invited us all into his shop for something to drink and any food he had while the Doctor tried to explain things to them. He gave them a cover story for when the police showed up. They had all been drinking tea when the building collapsed. If anyone had noticed their absence from work or school, it was because they had a family emergency or were ill. When everyone was settled, we got ready to leave. Angie walked over to me as we made our way for the back door.
"Phoenix." She called softly. The Doctor nodded and led Rose out back to wait for me. "Thank you." She hugged me briefly.
"For what?" I was tired and slightly confused.
"For saving me twice." I started to protest, that the Doctor had technically saved us, and that I hadn't done anything before, but she stopped me. "We could hear you yelling at that thing. You were willing to die to protect us. As for the other time, I would have died if you hadn't convinced me to go home. I had been getting sick but tried to keep it a secret. When I got home my mum brought me to the doctor. It was meningitis and they just barely caught it in time. You saved me." I didn't know what to say so I simply hugged her. We let go and she smiled brightly at me. "Now go on. Go with your sister and your not boyfriend and enjoy your travels."
"I will. And you keep being your amazing self. I'm so proud of you." We said goodbye and I walked out to where the Doctor and Rose were waiting. The Tardis was parked in the back alley of the shop. I could hear sirens coming in the distance. Rose linked arms with me and we all walked into the Tardis. Once we were safely in the vortex, Rose started yawning. She excused herself to go to bed after making sure that I was alright. When she was out of sight I got up and started walking away as well.
"Where are you going?" The Doctor questioned.
"The garden. I want to be comfortable while I get lectured." I explained and continued walking to the garden. I watered my tree, it was growing quite quickly. It seemed to be an ordinary tree and I was somewhat grateful. I wouldn't know what to do if it had grown into a tree person. When I was done I sat in one of the hanging baskets and waited for the Doctor to join me. He came in and sat down, facing me.
"I'm not going to lecture you." He finally said, breaking the silence.
"That's a change from when you first saw me." I muttered.
"I was worried. Alright? You were being attacked because you hadn't stayed hidden." He huffed.
"I had my reasons." I sighed.
"Right then. Start from the beginning. What happened and what are you hiding from Rose?" I turned to look at the garden as I spoke. I explained how Angie and I had gone for tea, and what happened after drinking it. Then I started explaining what the Harvester had said about Angie was supposed to have died on the streets, adding what I had found out about her being ill. I explained how we had found the others while trying to find a way out, and how I had gotten them into a safe room while we waited for him and Rose to find us. Finally I moved on to what I had been told about myself.
"They said I didn't exist, that there wasn't a record of birth for me. I didn't want Rose to know that because she already worries enough. There's a lot I'm not telling her: my intuition, the dreams, what you found, or rather didn't find, while looking through my memories. They're all my problems, not hers and I don't want to put them on her. Honestly, if I had my way, you wouldn't have to know about them either because they're just more things for you to worry about. But I can't really bring myself to lie to you, even if I did, you'd figure it out." It was difficult putting everything into words.
"I promised you we would figure everything out, and Rose and I will help you through whatever it is." He offered softly. He really wanted to help me. It was a hard thing to accept. I didn't like the idea that I had to rely on someone else to figure out things I should know about myself. It made me feel useless.
"Can we just put that on the back burner for a bit? I really don't want to figure me out right now. I just want to relax, go on some adventures, and pretend that I'm a completely normal 24 year old." I huffed. It was more than just a little draining, trying to figure out why I was so strange and had such weird things happen to me. I just wanted to ignore my quirks for a while.
"Who travels in time and space with her sister and an alien?" He questioned lightly. I looked over to see him smiling. A smile spread on my face.
"Yes. A completely normal 24 year old who travels in time and space with her sister and an alien." We burst out laughing. "Alright I should have said normal ish." We continued laughing but I was interrupted by a yawn. I hadn't noticed how tired I had gotten. First running on adrenaline while trying to escape, then getting some of my life force drained by the Harvester, and now the excitement and adrenaline were wearing off.
"You should get some rest. You'll need a little more than usual to build back your energy. Don't worry though, you won't have any ill effects from the Harvester attack. You can sleep it off." He offered. With another yawn I stood to leave. We said goodnight and I made my way to the door.
"Oh, and Phoenix, I'm proud of you. You kept calm and kept those others safe. A little stupid, trying to sacrifice yourself to protect them, but still, you did good. No matter what we figure out in time, you're a good person." I stopped and looked back at him. The gentleness in his voice surprised me slightly. I smiled at him.
"Thanks, that means a lot to me. And Doctor, you're a good person too. You don't seem to realize that sometimes, but you are." I turned and walked out of the room and found my way back to my room. I kicked off my shoes and crawled under the covers, not bothering to change.